Chromium and phosphate removal from wastewater in the stainless steel finishing industry

Customer Application and Activity

Rimex specializes in metal finishing and architectural metals and has been producing surface finishes on stainless steel and other metals since 1959. The process generates an acidic wastewater which is collected in 2 separate sumps, one for effluents containing chromic acid and another for those containing phosphoric/sulfuric acid.

Key Achievements

The use of Neutralac® SLS45 had positive effects in the wastewater treatment procedure. Neutralac® SLS45 has proved to be easy to handle, simple to pump and dose. Depending on dosage rates, Rimex has been able to:

1. 1- Achieve removals of up to 99.7% for sulfates and heavy metals, and up to 99.9% for phosphates
2. 2- Reduce its reagent costs by up to 20%
3. 3- Reduce the operators’ workload considerably due to the lower number of delivery vehicles required.

Conclusions

Neutralac® SLS45 allowed for the effective treatment of the effluent stream in combination with the use of a revolutionary ultrasonic reactor to treat the effluent prior to settlement and discharge. The use of Neutralac® SLS45 has yielded several benefits including

1. 1- Reduced reagent consumption by up to 30%
2. 2- Reduced handling time associated with unloading, stocking full and empty containers on site
3. 3- Reduced deliveries of reagent, in keeping with the company’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint